The Unforgiven
by QuoteTheRaven52
Summary: SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SEASON 13 EP: FORGET ME NOT Summary: Happily ever afters had never been in Sara Sidle's life before, so why would she have thought they would start now? After a charity event for the Las Vegas Sheriffs Department alcohol and lack of better judgement may lead her life into a place she never would have imagined. Ruining her career, her marriage, and her pr
1. Chapter 1

**The Unforgiven**

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to CBS and it's affiliates, I own nothing.**

**SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SEASON 13 EP: FORGET ME NOT**

**Summary: Happily ever afters had never been in Sara Sidle's life before, so why would she have thought they would start now? After a charity event for the Las Vegas Sheriffs Department alcohol and lack of better judgement may lead her life into a place she never would have imagined. Ruining her career, her marriage, and her pride were never even in her thoughts that night but in Las Vegas sin never sleeps, and picks it's victims at random.**

The shift had been long and as Sara walked towards the entrance of her apartment she wanted nothing more than to just take a shower and go to sleep. Unfortunately tonight was the night of the Las Vegas Sheriffs Department charity ball and Ecklie had made it clear that one hundred percent participation was a must for all employees of the crime lab. Her mind had been clouded before walking under the crime scene tape that night, lately the seperation from Grissom had been getting to her more than she thought it ever would. She hardly slept now, and spent most nights awake staring at the empty side of the bed wondering if things would ever change. She would never ask him to give up his passions and that's what made her realization kick in wondering deep down if she had made a mistake when they got married. She loved Gil but even she knew that sometimes things just won't work no matter how much you want them to. His daily phone calls that she once looked forward to were now a burden, cutting at an already open wound everytime they would say goodbye and she would put her phone down being alone once again.

She placed her keys down and headed to the bedroom laying out the dark blue dress and shoes that she had been forced to buy for the event a week prior. As she turned to head towards the bathroom she heard the familiar sound of her phone ringing and walked past it knowing that it was him. She walked into the bathroom and started the shower letting the water get to the right warmth before removing her clothing and placing it in the hamper. As she stepped into the shower she closed her eyes and let the water try and wash away not only the stress from the shift she had just finished but also the void that had started forming somewhere deep inside of her. After finishing her shower she walked into the bedroom and started to get dressed, trying to ignore the blinking red light on her phone telling her that he had more than likely left several messages. She hated herself for making things confusing for him, but she just couldn't bear to even hear his voice right now. After getting dressed she went back to the bathroom and pinned her hair up into a messy bun, and applied a light coat of makeup trying to tell herself that she would be able to hide her emotions under the layers and that no one would notice her fatigued look. After looking at herself one more time in the mirror she headed out and forced herself to walk inside the convention center. She made her rounds speaking with the sheriff, the mayer, and eventually Ecklie before moving to sit at the bar hoping that if she sat there no one else would bother her and she could hide until it was time to leave. Looking up at the bartender she ordered a glass of house wine and sat there slowly sipping it thinking about how much her life had changed in the last ten years. A soft voice startled her out of her thoughts and she looked over seeing a very handsome man, probably in his mid-thirties now sitting next to her.

She gave a small smile and turned slightly towards him as he spoke, " So please tell me why such an attractive woman such as yourself is sitting alone at the bar?"

She smiled and finished the last sip of her wine.

" Well thank you for the compliment but I am here because of a mandatory work function and to be honest these get togethers just really aren't something I normally attend."

The man smiled and nodded.

" That's at least an honest answer, and since you are stuck here it seems why don't you let me buy you another glass of wine?"

Her stomach tightened, she wasn't a dumb woman and she knew exactly what he was doing but for some reason tonight her conscience simply wouldn't listen. Sending him a small smile she nodded. Their conversations shifted back and forth between her work, and his job at the DA's office. She couldn't help but feel comforted at the sound of his voice, or maybe it was just the mere presence of having a warm body next to her since Gil had left three months ago for his new exumations in the Phillipines. After another hour she realized that she would need to call a cab to get home, and told him that she needed to be leaving and tried thanking him for his company and generosity at the bar. As she stood she swayed and almost tripped but found herself being caught by the man she now knew as Christopher. Laughing embarrased she accepted his invitation to walk her outside and help her get a cab knowing that she was in no condition to be attempting it herself, and not wanting anyone from the lab seeing her in a drunken state since her DUI incident two years ago.

As they made their way outside the cool night air felt good on her skin, and she shivered at the feeling. Before she had realized it Christopher had an arm tightly around her and leaned down whispering in her ear, " I could call you a cab, or you could come to my hotel room. I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon so..no one will know but us."

Her breath caught in her throat and she felt her hands start to tingle, before she could even register her own response they were walking to his hotel two buildings over and making their way inside. Once inside they made their way to his room, and as he swiped his hotel key she felt it in the pit of her stomach, and the realization of her actions were now clearly running through her mind. Looking around the room as he guided her inside she closed her eyes trying to find the words to tell him that she needed to go but her mind seemed to stop as she felt his warm hands on the back of her shoulders and took a shakey breath feeling his fingertips moving down her arms. She slowly turned and opened her eyes looking at him and as he slowly leaned in and pressed his lips to hers she did something she never thought she would do, she let him. It wasn't until she felt the bed against the back of her knees that she broke out of whatever trance she had been in and slowly pushed him away shaking her head.

"I...I'm sorry Christopher I just..I can't do this."

She looked up at him slowly and watched as he nodded and gave a small smile.

" I understand Sara, it's fine really. Why don't I get you a cab?"

She nodded at him and the next thing she remembered was cursing the sun coming in from her bedroom blinds. She slowly sat up and looked around sighing as she remembered the events of the night before. After getting a shower and getting dressed she made her way to the coffee shop near the strip and ordered two coffees and made her way to Christophers hotel. As she entered the front doors she frowned looking around at all the police officers, and froze in place as she looked at the room she had just been in the night prior which was now roped off with crime scene tape. Sara was brought out of her daze when Nick placed his hand on her shoulder. She quickly snapped her head towards him with wide eyes.

" Sara what are you doing here? Isn't it your day off?"

Nick looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She slowly nodded and walked over to the trash can and tossed the coffee cups. Nick always could tell when something was wrong and followed her talking in a hushed tone.

" Sara is something wrong? Talk to me here, I'm starting to get worried."

She looked at him and swallowed hard.

" I..I was in that room last night with a man I met from the convention center bar. His name was Christopher Jenkins and he worked as an assistant for the DA's office."

Nick's face turned slightly pale as he listened to her speak and he glanced around before speaking again.

"Sara listen to me...Christopher Jenkins was murdered last night he was shot. Now it's none of my business why you were in that room with him but I can tell you from experience that you need to leave right now and go to the lab and explain why any trace that we find of yours is in that room before it get's all over the lab and the under sheriff gets wind of it."

Sara looked at Nick and closed her eyes nodding, trying to suppress the tears that she felt building behind them. She turned her head and glanced around one more time before heading to her car and driving to the crime lab. The drive itself seemed like the longest she had ever taken, when in reality it was only about seven minutes from the hotel. She glanced at herself in her rearview mirror before shutting her car off and steadily walking into the front doors. Shortly after she found herself infront of D.B.'s office and saw him sitting behind his desk reading, she knocked lightly on the doorframe and as he looked up and saw her expression his hands moved up to remove his glasses as he spoke in an asking voice.

" Sara I didn't expect to see you today since it's your day off, is everything ok?"

Sara shooked her head and before she even realized it she had walked into the office shutting the door behind her and sat at the chair infront of his desk, her hands clasped tightly together.

" I don't really know..um..last night at the convention center I was sitting at the bar and I met a man named Christopher Jenkins he worked as an assistant to for the DA's office. He bought me a few drinks, we talked, and I..I went to his hotel room with him around ten and he was going to call me a cab from his room not long after that."

D.B nodded slowly and sat up a bit in his chair before speaking.

" You just said he was an assistant to the DA's office?"

Sara nodded and put her head down thankful that he hadn't said anything about the fact that she had went to a hotel room with someone other than her husband.

" I woke up this morning and I bought coffee, I was going to thank him for being such a gentleman last night and when I walked into the hotel and got to his room I saw all the police and the crime scene tape and then I saw Nick and he said Christopher Jenkins had been murdered last night. "

He shifted in his chair and propped his elbows on his desk leaning forward a bit when speaking.

" Sara I need to know exactly what I'm going to find of yours in that room, and I don't want to hear about your..well sex life but if it's going to pertain to this case I need to know every detail so that when the evidence is brought back to be ran I have an explanation to go behind it."

She looked up at him and swallowed hard nervously.

" I don't know..I was drunk. We went inside, we kissed a few times before I told him I needed to go home. I apologized to him, and he seemed fine he called me a cab I think...I can't remember anything else except that I woke up at home."

He stood and walked around to the front of his desk and leaned against it.

" Sara I think it would be best if you stayed around here today, and once the scene in processed and the evidence gets ran you know procedure you will be taken into interrogation and asked to give your statement. I also think that you should let me call your husband and explain the situation to him before someone else does."

Her head snapped up and her eyes met his and she forced a nervous smile.

" There's no need to call my husband, you know I didn't do this."

Sighing he stood and looked down at her.

" It's none of my business why you were in a room with another man, and I realize the implications that your husband might take to hearing that statement but I just thought you might need someone else here for you besides your co-workers because this isn't going to be easy, and to be honest with you they really wont be able to talk to you until everything is over."

Sara nodded and stood looking at him her arms crossed defensively infront of her.

" I will be fine, I will stay around here and when the time comes I will give my statement. I just wanted you to know."

Turning she left the office and headed for the locker room and sat on the bench infront of her locker putting her forehead against the cool metal and closed her eye's thinking of everything that was yet to come.

**Authors Note: I hope this chapter was a good start for this story, I haven't written on here in a long long time. Some of my other stories are under my old pen name of GSRWRITER52 but I no longer have access to that account. I do not have a beta for this story so any errors are mine and I apologize. Any and all reviews good or bad are highly encouraged. I apologize for being so rusty. I have already completed three chapters for this story and will be posting them shortly.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Unforgiven: Part Two**

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to CBS and it's affiliates. **

Hours had passed and it was almost noon by the time Nick and Greg had made their way from the crime scene back to the lab to start processing all the evidence they had collected. They had both been briefed by D.B. as soon as they had arrived back and knew that things were about to get very complicated at the lab. Greg made his way to the DNA lab and started sorting through everything that needed to be ran. Grabbing his first swab he had taken from a glass of water found on the nightstand in the room he turned his music on and blocked out everything he was thinking and within ten minutes the machine was beeping at him with a result, he looked up at the screen and sighed slowly pressing print on the results reading ' Sara Ann Sidle'. Deciding he needed his first break he locked everything and headed out to the parking lot for some fresh air. Meanwhile Nick had just gotten out of the ballistics lab not holding his head very high as he walked to D.B.'s office with the results. As he rounded the corner and walked into the office he placed the printed results down on the desk and sat down.

" Results from ballistics, the bullet was a department issued 9mm bullet."

D.B. looked at the paper reading it and nodded before looking at Nick.

" Listen I know that Sara is very close to you and if you'd like I can try and find someone else to handle this case."

Nick shook his head and looked up.

" I need to do this case, regardless of the outcome I need to finish this."

He nodded again and leaned back in his chair.

" What if this doesn't have the outcome you're hoping for Nick?"

He stands and takes the results back and places a hand in his pocket.

" I don't know, but...I just can't see Sara doing this. I've known her for so long, and if you'd known her for as long as I have you'd see that too."

Nick turned and walked into the hallway and started on his way to see Brass when Greg found him and motioned for him to follow him into DNA.

" What do you have Greg? Ballistics looked at the bullet we found and confirmed that it is a department issued 9mm bullet."

Greg nodded and the normally spunky high spirited csi took his gloves off and sat down with a somber face.

" The DNA from the glass on the nightstand as well as the hair we found on the bed are a positive match to Saras." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. " I just don't understand this, I never thought that this could happen."

Nick shook his head.

" Then don't, we still don't know what happened. So far yes the evidence is painting a story that neither of us like but you know just as well as I do that just the smallest thing we may find can change the entire outcome. I am going to see Brass and have him bring Sara in, maybe she can tell us something that we don't know."

Without looking up Greg spoke again.

" Have they called Grissom?"

Nick stopped in his tracks and look back over his shoulder.

" I don't know but...I'm going to just stay out of that part of this. I think it would be wise if you did the same."

Without anymore words being spoken Nick made his way to Brass's office and when the older man looked up at him his eye's said that he already knew and Nick nodded silently.

The lab became silent five minutes later as Jim Brass and two other officers walked down the hall with Sara Sidle between them heading towards the interrogation room. The air was thick, and the silence was enough to make someones ears ring. As they entered the interrogation room Brass sat down across from Sara and it took a few minutes before he could speak.

" Sara can you tell me where you were last night around eleven pm?"

Sara looked at him and bit her lip.

" I don't know I admit that around ten pm I left the convention center with Christopher Jenkins and went to his hotel room. We had both been drinking, and once we had gotten inside his room I decided I needed to go home and he agreed to call a cab and that's the last thing I remember."

He nodded and folded his hands together on the table.

" Where is your service weapon Sara?"

She looked up confused.

" It's in my glovebox of my car, and my car is in the parking lot. No warrant needed take it."

Brass stood up and quietly left the room and walked with Nick out to the parking lot, Nick put his gloves on and opened the passenger door and pressed the button on the glove box letting it open before reaching inside and pulling out Sara's service pistol. After a few moments he looked up at Brass shaking his head.

" Magazine is missing one round. I'll take the gun and the magazine inside and tag them and have ballistics run a comparison, and I'll dust the weapon for fingerprints."

Brass shook his head and started walking back inside and made his way to the window of the interrogation room and sighed speaking softly to himself. " What did you do kiddo."

Five hours later Nick, Greg, Brass, and D.B. were all gathered in his office and he spoke.

" So we have Sara's prints and DNA on a glass in the vics room, we have a positive comparison that the bullet was fired from her service pistol, and her prints are the only prints on the weapon. She admits to being there with him right before TOD and can't remember anything else. Listen DA and the sheriff are pushing hard on this one their ready to press charges and with this being all we have I can't stop them."

Everyone nodded but Nick as he looked up.

" We forgot something at the hotel."

All eyes were on Nick as he spoke.

" We talked to Sara and she admitted that she was in the room with the vic, I never reviewed any security camera video showing her leaving the room. Far fetched maybe but hear me out, if Sara can't remember going home maybe that's because someone else took her home, maybe someone else was there."

D.B. nodded and sat forward a bit.

" I can tell the sheriff that we have some unprocessed evidence and to hold but you're going to have to do this fast Nick, I can't promise you that it's going to buy enough time. Everyone knows the rules, if she is placed under arrest regardless of if later on we prove she didn't do it she is automatically dismissed from this lab."

Nick stood at the same time as Greg and they both ran out of the office and headed back to the AV lab to see if anyone else at the scene had secured any video surveilence from the hotel. Finding the feed Greg qued the video on the moniter and fast forwarded to Sara and Christopher walking into his room.

" Mark that Sara and our vic entered his room at approximately eight minutes after ten."

Nick nodded and wrote it in his notes before speaking.

"Fast forward to TOD."

Greg clicked to fast forward and stopped six minutes before the time of TOD and they both looked at each other as a woman with a baseball cap on knocked the door and upon it opening held up a gun. Minutes later the door slowly opened and Sara emerged from the room staggering with the woman wearing the ball cap to hide her face walking behind her, almost guiding her down the hallway and to the elevator. Greg immediately stood and Nick followed as they moved quickly to D.B.'s office.

" Someone else was in the room, you can't see the face but another woman came to the room right before TOD and had Sara's gun, afterwards she was guiding Sara out of the room and too the elevator. I'm going to print the elevator but it's going to take some time. And Greg will need to go to Sara's apartment and see if there is any trace of this mystery woman being there last night. Will this be enough for us to go?"

D.B. nodded and Brass gave a small smile not sure if it was from relief or anxiety before he spoke.

" You guys go, don't worry about the sheriff I will handle him until you get done."

Nick and Greg nodded in unision and all but sprinted out to the parking lot to their vehicles. Nick headed back to the hotel to print the elevator, after nearly twenty five minutes he was finally finished and headed back to the lab to the computer and started scanning all the prints in. Greg walked in about halfway through the prints being processed and leaned against the door frame.

" Anything yet?"

Nick shook his head.

" Nothing yet matching the females description, and I've ruled out all hotel maids and other staff. What about you?"

Greg nodded.

" I found some lipstick on a glass in Sara's sink that was fresh and I've never seen her wear that color before so I swabbed it, as well as a grey hair on Sara's bed. Now granted it could be Grissom's but seeing as how clean Sara is and the fact that he hasn't been home recently I decided to run in and see if anything comes up."

Greg was about to leave when he heard the computer beep and moved over quickly. Nick's eyes widened and he looked at Greg as he read aloud the words on the screen.

" Laura Sidle, Sara's mom? I thought her mom was in prison."

Nick nodded and typed her name into the database and shook his head.

" Laura Sidle was released from the correctional facility in California two days ago. She was there Greg she was the woman in that elevator I just know it."

Greg nodded and pulled his vibrating phone out and answered it and simply said ok before looking back at Nick.

" DNA on the glass, print on the glass, and DNA from the hair at Sara's apartment all come back to Laura Sidle."

With all the new information Greg and Nick made their way to D.B.'s office stopping in the doorway as they recognized the man standing with his back to them. Almost as if on que Grissom turned around and looked at both of the men. His hair shorter than the last time they'd seen him, and his beard wasn't fully grown back in yet from recently being shaved. His eyes held a darker blue than before and to be honest he looked exhausted as he motioned for them to continue with what they had walked in for.

Nick looked nervously at Greg and then at D.B. before speaking.

" Prints from the elevator, a glass in Sara's apartment as well as DNA all match to Laura Sidle, Sara's mother. She was released from prison in California two days ago, she was there. She was the woman we saw on the hotel survielence tape. She must have taken her home and she must have been watching Sara at the convention center last night."

Nodding D.B. stood up.

" Good work, I will notify Brass of your findings and put an APB out on Laura Sidle. If she's still in Vegas she won't get far. Why don't you go back over the evidence you collected and see if you can't find anything linking her to the shooting itself. If this goes to court and we can't prove that she was the one that pulled the trigger it's not going to matter, she might go down as accessory but Sara will still be the one with her prints on the trigger."

Greg and Nick both nodded, as Nick turned to walk out he placed a hand on Grissom's shoulder and gave him a sympothetic look before leaving.

Once the two were gone D.B. looked over at Grissom.

" I can take you to Sara if you'd like, I have to take this to Brass anyway."

Grissom looked around at the office that was once his and shook his head.

" I think I'm going to get a cup of coffee and I'll make my way over there in a little bit but...I don't want her to know that I'm here."

D.B. nodded slowly and went to Brass's office informing him of the recent update and asking for the APB on Laura Sidle.

Grissom made his way to the break room ignoring the looks and whispers from those walking past him in the hallway and poured himself a cup of coffee, he sat down and stared at his wedding ring for a few moments before sighing and getting up dumping the coffee into the sink and walking towards the interrogation room. He walked into the two way room and looked in seeing Sara dressed in the orange jumpsuit with her head in her hands and he slowly shook his head before looking down at the floor welcoming the silence until he could hear her crying. He closed his eyes for a moment and stepped out of the room and headed towards Brass's office. Finding his old friend he simply closed the door and sat down locking the rest of the lab out for as long as he could.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Unforgiven: Part 3**

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to CBS and it's affiliates.**

Hours had passed since placing the APB out on Laura Sidle and so far they had no leads as to where she might be, or if she was even still in the Las Vegas area. Nick had re-examined almost every peice of evidence that they had collected and hadn't found anything new. Sighing in frustration he moved to the gun and tried a different method of pulling prints and starting looking at it when he noticed that there was a partial print now showing itself.

Sara had been in the interrogation room for so long now that she couldn't even begin to guess the hours. Looking down she looked at the fabric of her orange shirt and closed her eyes thinking of how many suspects she had talked to in that very room, wearing the same colors and she felt the tears starting to build behind her eyes again. Maybe she was just like her mother had always said, maybe there was a murder gene. She couldn't remember anything that had happened, and she had no idea what kind of evidence that they had found. With her mind wandering she sat thinking of what her life would be like if she was arrested and found guilty. She already knew more than likely that regardless of the outcome of the investigation Gil would be gone, she had made that decision stupidly and drunkenly the night prior. She would lose her job, everything that she had ever done in her life would be gone. She would be her mother, an angry, depressed woman alone, and sitting behind a jail cell. Just another name on another roster, another story in the paper, and another name that would be forgotten once her cell door closed. The sound of the door opening caused her to look up and she watched as Jim Brass made his way in and sat down across from her.

" Sara listen we found some new evidence and the lab is working on it right now."

She nodded and sat up trying to put on a good face.

" Jim, did I...did I do this?"

She let silent tears fall as she searched for her answers on his face. He took a breath and shook his head.

" No, you didn't do this Sara. You were set up and followed, the suspect knew where you were going that night and then followed you into the hotel. I can't really tell you anything else right now but you did not kill him."

She cried more not sure if it was from relief or shock for the entire situation. Brass reached for his phone as it vibrated on the interrogation room table and stood moving to the corner of the room to answer it. After a few moments he turned back around and looked at Sara.

" It's over, it's all over. We caught her and she's still wearing the same bloody clothes from last night. Just give me another hour or so and I will get you out of here."

Sara nodded and wiped the tears from her face listening to Brass speak and slowly exhaled a breath that she didn't even realize she had been holding. After giving her a small smile Brass exited the interrogation room and headed to the holding cells to meet the infamous Laura Sidle. As he walked in he could hear her laughing and he stopped infront of her cell with a stern look on his face.

" Is something funny about all of this to you?"

The older woman who Sara did resemble looked up with a smile on her face.

" Yes, I finally accomplished something. I wanted my daughter to feel the pain that I have felt all these years." She stood up and walked to the bars of her cell. " I take pride in killing my husband, I protected my daughter. But does she even give me a thanks? No, she doesn't thank me, she doesn't even come visit me, hell she didn't even write me a letter! She always did think she was better than everyone else. Well guess what she isn't, and I wanted her to know what it felt like to have her world come crashing down, her walls to start closing in on her. I wanted her to know what it felt like to be locked away and have no one care if you're even alive."

Brass shook his head at the woman with a strong look of anger etched onto his face.

" You were just as bad as your husband. Medical reports show you did just as much damage to her as a child as your husband. Unlike you your daughter has family, she has people who care about her and will stand by her."

She scoffed and leaned her head against the bars.

" She is my daughter, she will always be like me and that will never change detective. People don't change, they never have and never will. She can run as long and as far as she wants but it won't change anything."

He shook his head and couldn't help but chuckle.

" She may be your daughter by blood, but she is nothing like you. And for the record, people can change. They just have to want to change, which is obviously something you don't understand."

With that Brass turned and walked out of the holding area taking a deep breath and he looked at Nick who was now standing infront of him.

" Print matched from the gun, and blood on her clothes are a match to the suspects."

Brass nodded and gave a small smile.

" Nick why don't you go tell Sara that she is free to go, and grab her a set of clothes from her locker to change into, I'll head to my office and get the paper work finished."

Nick gave a smile and after grabbing Sara's spare clothes from her locker he turned heading to tell Sara the news, when he walked inside the interrogation room he shut the door and walked to stand beside her and gave a warm smile as she looked up at him.

" Brass is filling out your release papers now, you're free to go Sara. I brought you some clothes from your locker too."

Sara stood and immediately hugged Nick tightly.

" Oh my God thank you! I don't know what I...I just..thank you."

Nick smiled and hugged her back rubbing her back.

" Don't thank me sweetie, I just did my job. Although for the record I knew you didn't do it."

Sara pulled back and looked at Nick.

" Who was the woman who framed me? Was it a suspect from one of my cases?"

Realization set in for Nick that no one had told Sara about her mother, he brought a hand up rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at her.

" Sara listen um...did you know that your mother had been released from prison two days ago?"

Sara's eye's widen as she slowly shook her head.

" I..I'd never thought about it I mean I try and forget that part of my life most of the time."

He nodded and bit his lip.

" Your mother was released from prison two days ago, she must have found out where you were before she was released and she came here looking for you. She followed you to the convention center last night and then to the hotel. Honestly if you hadn't had so much to drink last night I don't know if it would have been Mr. Jenkins that would have gotten shot but from watching the surveilence videos you must have passed out before he could get you downstairs to the cab. She showed up and he answered the door, she had gotten into your car and taken out your service pistol and used it to make entry, as well as to shoot Mr. Jenkins. Afterwards she led you to the elevator and then took you home in a cab knowing you wouldn't remember anything that had happened. We found her DNA at your apartment. It looks like she must have taken a cab back to your car and placed your gun back where it was before leaving. We found her trying to fly to Florida at the airport. Security recognized her name as she was trying to board."

Sara's face was now ghost white as she listened to Nick describe everything to her. She had so many emotions running through her body at one time that her hands started to shake and she looked down at the ground and when she spoke her voice was barely over a whisper.

" After I finished school I promised myself that I wouldn't look back at my past. I didn't visit her, I didn't write her. After the incident with Natalie I knew that I had been running from my ghosts for too long and I had to get away. I went back to California for a while but I still couldn't bring myself to visit her. I'd finally accepted the fact that she was my mother, and that my past wasn't going to make me into a horrible person. I took some time traveling and doinf other things that interested me and once I felt better I came back here, and I felt like my life was finally going in the right direction."

She glanced up at Nick with a sad smile on her face.

" Everything was perfect, well almost perfect. Although how perfect can a marriage be when you only get to see your husband two months out of the year."

Sara shook her head and looked down again.

" I love Gil, and I would never intentionally hurt him Nick and I hope you know that. I made a mistake last night after having too much to drink but even as drunk as I was I told him after he kissed me that I needed to go home."

She sighed and looked at her wedding ring.

" I don't think that matters much now, but that's going to be something I'm going to have to live with."

Nick leaned in and gave Sara another hug and decided he wouldn't tell her that Grissom had been there earlier. Truth be told he didn't know if he had stayed, he hadn't seen him since leaving the office earlier.

Sara turned and grabbed her clothes and thanked Nick again before heading to the locker room and taking a long shower. After her shower she changed into her clothes and headed to Brass's office to sign her release papers. After everything was finished she hugged Brass and walked out to the parking lot and took in a deep breath of fresh air. She turned and started walking to her car, her eyes on the pavement infront of her until she was almost halfway there. When she looked up she stopped walking and stood still not sure if she had dropped her keys or not. When his head snapped up and he looked at her she realized that she must have dropped her keys otherwise he wouldn't have known she was there. Her breath caught in her throat and she stood just like that, still, speechless, and afraid with their eyes locking on one anothers.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Unforgiven: Part 4**

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to CBS and it's affiliates.**

Sara slowly bent down and picked up her keys after a few moments and then watched his feet as he continued to walk towards her. When he stopped a few steps away from her she looked up at him and some how found the courage to speak.

" Gil I..I didn't know you were here."

His expression didn't change, and honestly she didn't think she'd ever seen it before. She felt her hands starting to shake again and if she hadn't thought about it she probably would have started to hyperventilate. He scrunched his face a bit and gave a slight nod before speaking, his voice not as cold as she had expected.

"I've been here since right after lunch. I left as soon as I got the phone call that you'd been taken in for questioning on a homicide."

Sara nodded and looked down again and tried to think of what to say to him, she knew that 'I missed you' just wasn't appropriate considering the circumstances even if it was true. Before she could think of something to say he spoke again.

" Do you want me to drive?"

Her head rose up as she heard him speak, surprised that he even wanted to be at that close of a proximity to her at the moment. She nodded and handed him her keys, she wanted cry when her fingers skimmed his knowing that she would probably never feel that again. Once they were in the car he turned the radio off and they rode in silence for a few minutes until he spoke again, this time his voice was cold and he didn't take his eye's off the road as he spoke.

" I didn't stay around the lab to hear all the details but I need to know if you slept with him."

Sara immediately forced herself to hold back tears as she stared intently at the floor board under her feet. She hadn't expected him to be so blunt, but then again she honestly didn't know what she expected. It took her a few minutes to collect her composure before answering him.

" No, I didn't sleep with him. We kissed and then I realized what was happening and I told him that I needed to go home."

Grissom nodded still not taking his eye's off the road and gripped tighter at the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. The rest of the drive was silent, and as they parked in the driveway of his town house she didn't know if she should feel relief or confusion as to why he hadn't taken her to her apartment. He turned the car off and sat there for a few seconds before unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car and she watched as he walked to his door, unlocked it, and walked inside. She let out a shakey breath before finally letting herself out of the car and starting her walk to his door. As she reached for the doorknob she felt sick, knowing that before she went to sleep tonight more than likely a decision would have been made.

Sara walked in slowly and shut the door behind her not seeing him anywhere. Once she heard a cabinet from the kitchen she forced herself to walk that way and watched him as he started a pot of coffee. Deciding it would be best if she left him to be until he was ready to talk she turned and walked into the living room and sat down on the couch placing her face in her hands and closing her eye's. She hadn't noticed that he had joined her in the living room until she could feel his eye's on her from the chair across the room and she forced herself to look up at his gaze. When she spoke she didn't even recognize her own voice as it was soft, yet fragile and cracking.

" Gil I don't know what to say or what to do. I never meant for any of this to happen, and I know you might not believe me but I never intended to hurt you."

He took a drink of his coffee before setting it down on the side table and he leaned forward resting his elbows on his thighs looking down at the floor for a few seconds before looking back up at her.

" I don't know what to say right now Sara. You've been avoiding my phone calls, not returning any messages. I didn't even get the courtesy of having my own wife call me to tell me that she's in trouble."

She hadn't expected him to be so forth coming, but then again it wasn't one of their normal conversations. The fact that he was talking so open with her about his feelings made her feel even worse because she knew that she had hurt him and that nothing she said would make it better. Sara took a deep breath and started playing with her wedding ring before she spoke again.

" Do you want me to leave?"

She listened for a reply and when she hadn't recieved one in a few minutes she decided she should go and stood up. As soon as she started walking towards the door he sat up in his chair and when he spoke his voice wasn't cold at all, it was deep and almost strangled.

" I don't want you to leave, I've never wanted that."

Stopping as she listened to him speak she turned slowly and looked at him not being able to stop her tears again as she talked.

" I don't know what to do Gil, tell me what to do please!"

He instinctively stood and walked over to her and wiped the tears from her face.

" I don't know what to tell you because I don't even know what to do. But I can tell you that I don't want you to cry, and I don't want you to leave. We are going to have to decide if we want to work through this together or...or if we want to go our seperate ways."

Sara knew it wasn't the best idea but she instinctively moved forward and gripped the front of his shirt with both hands and pressed her forehead against his chest sobbing. At first he didn't move, he was fighting with himself on whether or not to comfort her. He knew that she was hurting and obviously regretted her decisions but he was hurting too, and he was mad that she would turn her back on him in the way that she did. Unable to force himself to just stand and watch her breaking down he slowly moved his arms tightly around her and leaned his head down resting his face into her hair and closing his eyes. They seemed to stay like that forever, and when she had finally stopped crying he gently started rubbing her lower back. She slowly moved back and looked up at him before she spoke with tears still fresh in her eye's.

" I hated not answering everytime that you called but I couldn't. Everytime we say goodbye and I lay there at night sleeping alone I feel more empty inside than the night before. You love what you do, and you gave up so much for me that I can't even think about asking you to stay here with me but that's what I want. I want to be able to come home and lay down at night with you next to me and wake up seeing you in the morning."

Her tears were now free falling and she didn't try to conceal them. She was so mentally exhausted that there was nothing left for her to try and hold onto. Hearing her words he took a step back, not knowing how to respond. They had always been different emotionally in the relationship and it was something that they would always have to work on and they both knew it. He sighed and rubbed his face pondering the new information that she had just told him.

" Sara I...I wish you would have told me this when you first felt this way. Believe me when I say that I do miss you, and I miss being together. I just didn't know that it was effecting you this bad, if I had known I would have looked at other options work wise."

There was silence in the room as they stood there neither knowing what else to say when he did the only thing he knew how to do. He simply turned around walked away down the hallway and once in the bedroom he sat on the bed trying to figure everything out in his head. When she hadn't followed him he looked up towards the doorway and took a deep breath.

" Sara come in here please."

After he had walked away she felt completely defeated. He had always ran before and she had wondered if the seperation would make him lean towards his old tendencies of running away instead of facing problems head on. When she heard him calling for her she stood still wondering if she should just leave and get it over with or if she did go to him what he was going to say. Fighting her thoughts she slowly made her way down the hallway and walked into the bedroom standing infront of him. He looked up at her and held out his hand quietly. Sara didn't hesitate and took his hand and let him pull her down to sit next to him on the bed before leaning over and placing her head on his shoulder.

As they sat there both listening to the silence he finally spoke.

" Maybe we should both get some sleep. I'm exhausted from flying and everything that's happened today, and I know that you have to be too. I would feel better if we were both rested and had some time before making any decisions."

Sara moved back and looked at him and started wondering if she would be sleeping on the couch tonight but before she had a chance to ask him he stood up and walked over to the dresser and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms.

" I'm going to take a quick shower so if you're asleep by the time I'm done I'll try and be quiet when I come back in."

She nodded and waited for him to leave the room before walking over to the closet and grabbing her night gown and slipping into it. Him not minding sleeping in the same bed with her gave her a little hope for the outcome of their talk tomorrow but she knew didn't necessarily mean anything. She moved over and laid down sighing as she closed her eye's and took in his scent on the pillow. He had told her that while he was gone he would like her to stay at his house but just like the phone calls being in his house just had reminded her of how he wasn't there so she decided staying at her apartment was the best idea.

Her body and mind were both exhausted but as she listened to the shower running she became nervous knowing he would be coming to bed soon. She thought about how they usually were at night. She would sleep with her head on his chest while he held her close, and when they woke up she was normally on her side with his arm around her. But she knew tonight would be different, and as she heard the water turn off she rolled over with her back to the door and closed her eye's hoping he would think she was already asleep.

As he walked into the bedroom he saw her and thought that she must have already fallen asleep. He was glad, he knew she had to of been tired after the events of the day, even if she had hurt him he loved her and he knew he would never stop loving her. Moving to the bed he slid under the covers and rolled over facing her back and held back the urge to scoot closer and wrap his arm around her like he normally would have done. He had never been in a situation that confused him as much as this did. He wanted to be able to tell her to leave, he wanted to be as far away from her as possible yet he couldn't tell her to leave, and he didn't want to be away from her even with what she had done. He wanted to hold her, and tell her that he loved her but he couldn't. Sighing he rolled over putting his back to her and stared at the wall for what seemed like a few hours before finally allowing his mind to calm and he finally fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Unforgiven: Part 5**

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to CBS and it's affiliates.**

**Warning: This chapter contains adult themes and situations!**

As Sara woke up the next morning she listened to his heart beating under her ear, she missed the warmth of his body, and then she remembered the events from the day prior and slowly tried to move back over to her side of the bed hoping she didn't wake him in the process. As she started moving she felt his arm move up and tighten around her, and as she looked over at him his eye's were on her as he spoke softly.

" Don't..just stay."

She nodded and moved back down laying her head on his chest and closing her eye's as she took in a long deep breath wanting to say something but not being able to form the words when he spoke softly with a hint of sadness in his voice.

" The hours I spend with you I look upon as sort of a perfumed garden, a dim twilight, and a fountain singing to it. You and you alone make me feel that I am alive. Other men it is said have seen angels, but I have seen thee and thou art enough." He paused for a moment. "George Edward Moore."

Sara bit her lip before looking up at him as he continued.

" Trust is not something that has come easy to me, especially seeing what we've seen on a daily basis and knowing the human tendencies. But I can't walk away from you, I never could."

Her eyes started to tear up listening to him as she placed her head back down onto his chest before she spoke.

" I promise I will never hurt you again, I will do everything and anything I can to prove that to you no matter long that takes Gil."

Taking a deep breath he slowly ran his hand up her back and closed his eyes.

" We will work through it Sara, you just have to be patient with me."

As the time passed things had started to somewhat return to normal. Sara was back at work within two weeks, and to her surprise Gil hadn't flown back to the Philipines yet. The rumors at the lab had started to bother her but as time went by it seemed as if no one even remembered what had happened. Her normal shift had turned into a double and she was relieved when they had wrapped up the case seeing as how it was now cutting into her only day off that week. She showered and changed clothes at the lab before driving to his town house and parking in the driveway. As she walked inside she smiled a bit hearing the classical music coming from his office and made her way down the hall before leaning against the doorframe watching him reading a book. He looked up and have her a small smile before closing the book and leaning back in his chair.

" Double shift, must have been a bad night."

She nodded and leaned her head against the wood of the door frame.

" We were short handed which made things worse, but then again a triple homicide in the desert always starts the night off on a sour note."

Nodding he placed his book on the desk and stood up stretching his neck.

" Are you hungry I can make something or we could order out? Knowing you, you skipped eating lunch."

Standing up from the door frame she smiled before nodding.

" Yes I did, and I will eat whatever you'd like."

He nodded and reached for his cell phone, and ordered for both of them. She smiled at the fact that he knew exactly what she wanted and didn't have to ask. Walking over she sat on the couch by his desk and took her shoes off before catching a glimpse of a paper on his desk.

" UNLV sent you a letter?"

He placed his cell phone back on his desk before glancing at her and nodding his head.

" I requested some information from them regarding an open position a few days ago."

Her face must have showed that she was thinking hard and he spoke again.

" I'm staying here Sara, I'm not going back. A position at the university opened up and I took it."

Sara shook her head and glanced at the paper again before looking back at him.

" You don't have to do this, I will work everything out and we will be fine."

Shaking his head he sat back down.

" I start Monday, it's done. Listen Sara one day I might decide to do something else but right now I need to be here. Not just for you, but for me too."

His words stung as she realized that he wasn't just staying because it had caused problems for her. He was also staying because he didn't trust her to be there alone while he was gone. She took a deep breath and nodded thinking that she would probably be the same way if the roles were reversed. He noticed the change in her face and looked down sighing before speaking again.

" Me staying here isn't just because of what happened. I think it will be good for the both of us and it's a job that I'm going to enjoy."

Moving her eye's up to meet his she nodded quietly and then stood up walking back out into the living room. He sat in his office for a few more minutes before following her, finding her sitting on the couch watching tv he sat down next to her. When she spoke it caught him off guard and his expression told on him.

" You haven't kissed me since you've been home."

Not being able to respond he leaned back into the couch cushion. Sara looked down at her hands before she spoke again.

" You can't kiss me because he kissed me."

Grissom looked away before turning and moving a hand up to her chin gently forcing her to look at him.

" I don't like to think about the fact that you kissed another man, but that doesn't mean I don't want to kiss you. I told you that this would take some time for me. It's not that I don't want to kiss you, or touch you because believe me I do. "

She locked her eye's with his and bit her bottom lip.

" Then do it."

He swallowed hard and hesitated a bit too long and Sara stood up and began to say something when the knock on the door got both of their attentions signaling that their food had arrived. Grissom stood and walked to the door and paid for their food before walking into the kitchen and setting it down on the counter. Sara followed and stood next to him, and he could feel her eye's on him as he stilled his hands and turned looking at her. Before he even knew what he was doing he turned and took those few steps closing the gap between them and brought his hand up to her face and pressed his lips against her's in a hard, searing kiss.

Sara's mind didn't quite understand what had just happened but her body did. Reaching up she ran her fingers through his hair and moaned as his tongue pinned her's. His hand's found their way down to the button of her jeans and he made quick work unfastening it and sliding her zipper down as he backed her out of the kitchen and pinned her roughly against the wall of the living room. She knew by the look in his eye's that this wasn't going to be their normal love making, but she didn't care. She needed him, and he was no longer in control of his emotions needing to claim her as his.

Her hands moved down and unbuckled his belt, pausing when she felt his teeth nipping at the sensitive flesh of her neck. She finished her task and let his pants fall to his ankle's before having her wrists grabbed and pinned against the wall. Gil Grissom was not normally this dominant but she didn't question it as he held her arms above her head with one hand and moved the other hand down to her waist sliding her jeans off and her panties in one swift motion. She moved and managed to get one leg free from the articles of clothing before she felt her arms being freed and being lifted up against the wall. Her legs instinctively wrapped around him and her hands gripped his shirt tightly at his chest before sliding one hand down between them and sliding his boxers down enough to free his now raging member and lining him up before moving her hand back up to his shirt.

He said nothing and his eye's were intensified by the darkness of his pupils as he thrusted fully inside of her, not giving her any time to adjust to his size. She slammed her head back against the wall gasping and gripped tighter to his shirt, but tightened her legs around him bringing him deeper inside of her. His grip tightened on her waist as he started thrusting fast and hard, his eyes closed and his head leaned back breathing heavily and grunting with each movement. Hearing her moan he moved his head forward and buried his face in her neck muffling his own moans against her skin as she moved her hands down to his sides digging her nails into him. He could feel his stomach tightening and his body prepared to give in to his release. Tightening her legs even more around him she could feel him growing harder inside of her and her walls clamped down around him as she screamed his name. That was all it took for him as he started emptying himself deep inside of her moaning her name between pants until slowly stilling his hips and attempting to catch his breath as he rested his forehead on her shoulder.

Slowly he slid out of her and lowered her to the ground, when she winced he knelt down and slid her jeans and panties off of her other foot before standing and fixing his own voice was softer now, as were his eye's as he spoke to her.

"Let me run you a hot bath."

He turned and walked to the bathroom turning the water on and looked over seeing the lavender bubbles she had left at his home the last time she was there. He took it and squeezed a few drops out under the running water. Sara slowly made her way into the bathroom and was now fully un-dressed as she watched him until he stood up and turned looking at her and extended his hand to assist her into the bathtub. He helped her slowly submerge herself into the hot water and waited until she closed her eye's before turning and walking back into the kitchen and grabbing his food, thinking about what had just happened as he took his first bite. She always had been the only woman that could make him lose his self control, and at that point in time he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Unforgiven: Part 6**

**Disclaimer: All rights belong to CBS and it's affiliates.**

**Warning: This chapter contains adult themes and situations!**

Morning came all too quickly for Grissom, he still was fighting internally trying to figure everything out. Sara was asleep laying next to him with her head on his arm. He hadn't fallen asleep until it was almost time for the sun to start rising. He got up slowly and made his way to the bathroom to do his morning routine before going to the office down the hall and checking his emails. To his surprise he had recieved an email from the college notifying him that the job he had been given was now being cut before even going into effect due to low budget. Sighing he leaned back in his chair and mentally checked that option off in his head. Scrolling down he opened the next email that was from the company he had just left in the Philipines asking him to reconsider his decision to not return. As he started typing his fingers stopped before he could even finish his first sentence and he sat there for a few moments and thought. 'I only have another year and a half on my contract, maybe the distance will clear my head. Maybe when I come back for good we will both be where we need to be.'

Deep down he knew that he was running, something he had promised her before they got married that he would never do again. He had ran from her for almost nine years, it had never been intentional but it had hurt them both. She had even said she wanted him to go back, well maybe not in those exact words but she had argued with him about staying in Vegas. They were married now though, and some how he talked himself into believing that maybe that was enough to make what he was about to do right. Bringing his hand up he rubbed his face and stared at the keyboard and started typing back his agreement. As soon as he pressed the send button he heard her in the kitchen and he stood and went to attempt to tell her what he had just done.

Turning the corner to the kitchen he watched as she read the back of the creamer and let out a slow breath. Sara heard him exhale and turned and gave him a small smile which he returned before walking over to stand next to her.

" I didn't wake you when I got up did I?"

She shook her head and placed the creamer down.

" No, and when I walked past the office you looked busy and I didn't want to interrupt you."

Nodding he realized this was going to be harder than he thought, and it must have shown on his face.

" Gil is somethng wrong?"

He cursed inwardly at how well she could read him, as far back as he could remember she always could and that had been the hardest part of trying to act like he didn't have feelings for her in the beginning.

" UNLV cut my position last night due to their budget, and I started thinking about my contract. I only have a year and a half left and it will give me time to find other jobs that are stable for when I am finished."

Her eye's fell a little before rising back up to meet his, and as she spoke her voice didn't hide her feeling's of disapointment.

" So you are leaving again...When?"

Noticing the tone in her voice he placed a hand on her lower back before speaking.

" Tomorrow night, my flight will be leaving around seven."

She moved away from him as if his touch had burned her but started pouring two cups of coffee trying to play it off.

" Well I guess we will just have to make tonight count then won't we?"

Not waiting for a reply from him she made her way out of the kitchen and back to the bedroom, leaving him staring down at the cold tiles of the kitchen floor.

As the day had progressed they had both seemed to ignore their earlier conversation had even existed, and things had actually started to feel normal between them. It wasn't until they were sitting at dinner out on the strip that he felt her start to build her wall back up. He reached across the table as they waited for their check and placed his hand over her's. The car ride back home had been silent except for the radio, and as they walked inside and she still hadn't spoken to him he knew deep down that this was only the beginning.

He took his jacket off and hung it by the door before slipping his shoes off and making his way to the bedroom and as he walked in he stopped placing his hand's in his pockets and watched her slowly sliding her dress off. Feeling his eye's she looked over at him silently for a few moments before turning back and continuing to hang up her dress. She shivered as she felt the warmth of his hands slowly sliding down her sides and she closed her eyes as his hands moved lower and removed her panties. Fighting it just wasn't possible at this point, and when she felt his chest press against her back she knew all attempts to protect herself from him leaving again would be failed as she leaned back against him.

He slowly turned her to face him and lightly brushed his thumb over her bottom lip before leaning in and kissing her slowly as she moved her arms around his neck. Moving back he gazed into her dark brown eye's as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt and he felt the goosebumps forming over his skin as she slowly slid her hands under his now opened shirt and over his chest. When her lip's made contact with his chest he moved a hand up to lightly run his fingers through her hair, then he let his shirt drop to the floor. Continuing to kiss his chest gently she dropped her hands and took her time removing his pants and boxers before lightly pushing him back towards the bed.

Once by the bed he sat down and pulled her with him slowly so she was straddling him, never breaking eye contact. She didn't know if it was out of fear of him never coming back, or the need for feeling forgiveness from him that made her feel a slight sadness as she gazed down at his blue eye's. The feeling of her skin against his made it feel like time had stopped, and as he slid his hands up her sides and around to her back removing her bra he fought back a slight moan. Even if thing's weren't going well between them, and he was confused with what to do for their future; at that moment he didn't care. He needed her, he had always needed her.

Sitting up halfway he pressed his lip's against the soft skin below her collarbone and let his tongue sneak out for small tastes until he made his way to her breasts. When he took a nipple into his mouth he felt her grind against him and nipped lightly with his teeth, eliciting a throaty moan from her. Moving back he watched as she moved herself over him and let his eye's close at the feeling of her lowering herself completely onto him. She waited for him to open his eye's and look at her before she lightly ran her nail's down his chest and slowly starting to move her hip's. Gripping her hips he started moving with her, slowly matching her movements and letting his mouth slightly open as his breathing heightened.

Leaning her head back she started to ride him harder and bit her bottom lip before letting his name escape mixed with a pleasured moan. The pure sound of his name escaping her lip's caused his to grip to tighten on her waist as he dug his head back further into the bed. Digging her nails lightly into the skin of his chest she felt her wall's starting to tighten around him , and rode him faster. When he felt her pulsing around him he moaned letting go of any control he had left and he came with her, a mixture of panting and moaning reverberated off the bedroom walls.

After calming her breathing she leaned forward and pressed her lip's to his as his left hand found it's way to her cheek and he deepened the kiss letting their tongue's mingle before slowly breaking away to gaze into her eye's. They didn't move until the coolness of their sweat had them both shivering after their body temperature's had returned to normal, and she slowly moved off of him and pulled the sheet up before resting her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat.

His voice was deep and rugged as he spoke," I love you Sara, I'd never fully loved someone before I met you."

She let a small smile grace her lip's and she nuzzled her head to his chest and let her fingertip's graze an imaginary pattern on his skin.

" I love you too Gil, I told you before you are my one and only and I meant that. I will always mean that."

They drifted off to sleep holding one another for as long as they could until he would have to leave the next afternoon. Both feeling a sense of closure and contentment that they had needed even before everything that had happened. But just thinking that thing's would be fine after he left again didn't mean that it was going to happen.

...

"And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation." _- Khalil Gibran _

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you to everyone that has been following this story, you comments have kept me motivated to continue for each chapter. Review's please, and let me know if you want me to continue? **


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